I have been waiting for warmer weather to check out how my Hosta garden I created last spring did after our drought last summer and cold winter. I have been waiting a little longer to clear out the garden because of some really cold nights here and I wanted to give the Hosta pips a little protection until the temps were a little more steady.
*This post is generously sponsored by STIHL. All opinions are my own, see my full disclosure here.
To clear out the leaves I grabbed my STIHL BGA 57 leaf blower, but also realized my husband mowed the lawn but didn’t get a chance to trim. I figured why not do that as well and it was the perfect time to test the STIHL battery run time on our large yard.
Because the AK battery system is interchangeable I was hoping to trim the whole yard as well as blow the leaves out of the garden all on the same AK 20 battery.
My STIHL FSA 57 Trimmer claims to trim the length of 12 Football fields* On A Single ChargeTM on the AK10 Battery* and my BGA 57 leaf blower claims to clear a sidewalk the length of 10 football fields On A Single ChargeTM * on the AK20 battery.
So let’s test it out using a AK20.
But first, make sure you are protected!
I started with the trimmer. This is the first time our yard was mowed and trimmed this year so it desperately needed it. I went all around the edges of the yard, around the trees, garden beds, driveways and also went into the woods a little on spaces. I did my whole front and back yard and the trimmer did awesome!
The string was durable and it didn’t break once, which saves me money! The battery…there were 3 lights left! Which surprised me because I did a lot!
Once the trimming was done it was time to see how many Hosta survived their first drought and winter in their new home. I took the same AK20 battery I just used in my trimmer and placed it into my BGA 57 leaf blower.
There were a lot more leaves than I had initially thought and they were wet. If I had known that I would have removed some earlier in the season!
To my surprise most of my Hosta survived! I think I lost very two small ones, which were probably not established in the ground before the drought. I am really excited to continue to add to the garden, not only more plants but more rocks as well. I think it will keep the weeds down plus look great among the plants.
As far as the battery goes, it lasted longer than I thought it would. It lasted long enough to remove the wet leaves from the garden but I did have to pop in another battery to blow them into the woods. That’s another reason I love the battery systems at STIHL: You can go from one task to another using the same batteries. It makes it a lot easier to get the tasks done in the yard without having to purchase different types of batteries.
I added a few more Hostas that I split from my sister’s garden and added a Bleeding Heart. I can’t wait for it to bloom against the green of the Hosta.
This garden has become a labor of love and I’m excited to watch it fill in over the next few years.
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*FSA 57 Trimmer: Trim up to 3,770 linear feet with the AK 10 battery on a single charge. Usage claim tested and verified by an independent third-party test laboratory. Run time per charge may vary depending on usage and application.
*BGA57 Leaf Blower: Clear a 60″ sidewalk up to 3,248 linear feet with the AK 20 battery on a single charge. Usage claim tested and verified by an independent third-party test laboratory. Run time per charge may vary depending on usage and application.
